The influence of individual, group, and relative self-esteem on outcome for patients undergoing group cognitive-behavioural therapy treatment.

Objectives: Despite a strong association between individual self-esteem and treatment outcome in group cognitive-behavioural therapy (GCBT), no study has investigated how patient outcomes might be influenced by an individual's self-esteem relative to other group members.

Design: The study comprised a retrospective examination of patients' data and used a multiple regression analysis to identify predictors of treatment outcome. Patients' pre-treatment self-esteem scores were assessed on a continuum and assigned to be low, medium, or high.